Englewood, OH –A woman from Moraine, 48-year old Brenda Longstreth, was killed on Thursday along I-70 after a semi-truck accident. Police are saying that Longstreth’s car was crushed between two 18-wheeler trucks after one of them failed to stop in time.
Longstreth was driving her Chevroelt Impala west on I-70, following behind an 18-wheeler. Due to a lane closure, both the 18-wheeler and Longstreth had to slow down. A second 18-wheeler driving behind them failed to brake in time, smashing Longstreth’s Chevrolet in between the two big rigs.
Longstretch was killed in the accident and the truck that failed to brake in time, Yusuf Hussein Yusuf, may face charges. Police noted that, at a minimum, Yusuf may be cited for failure to maintain an assured clear distance.
Scene of the Accident
At first glance, it seems like this accident was entirely the 18-wheeler driver’s fault for following too closely. If he was following at a safe distance, he should have had time to stop before the accident. However, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to hear the trucking company that hired this driver claim that the victim was actually following too closely. But, even if they argue that the victim was following too closely to the first truck, that still doesn’t excuse the other trucker for not paying enough attention, in my opinion.
Let me explain how commercial truck accidents aren’t the same as regular car accidents, because I think that’s important. In a regular car accident, the driver at fault is usually required to pay for the damages incurred and insurance companies are involved. When a commercially-owned 18-wheeler is involved, that means the trucking company that owns the truck is also involved. Since trucking companies have a vested interest in their driver, they’ll always defend him, even if the accident was his fault. Now, the burden of proof is always on the victim. They must prove that the trucker’s negligence caused the accident. The trucking company doesn’t have this burden. All they need to do is show their driver wasn’t completely at fault.
How do you do that? A common tactic I’ve seen is blaming the victim for the accident. To you and me, this is completely ridiculous – but these kinds of accidents aren’t settled by what you know, but by what you can prove to a jury. Going up against a trucking company with vast resources is nearly impossible if you don’t know how to handle their aggressive tactics. At the end of the day, they have an investment to protect and a lot of resources at their disposal.
— Grossman Law Offices